Category: Past Masters

At a loss to understand why ‘fake news’ is considered ‘new’ news. Everybody has being lying to everybody else since we crawled out of the primordial swamp. To be more precise, believing their own perceptions of reality; packaging and promoting it – for personal gain. This Guardian commercial from a London ad agency in 1986 not only sums up why advertising became a noble profession (through the sheer creativity of simple observation – sadly gone) but also through the fallibility of what people believe and why they believe it. Today’s journos take note. Examine all issues from all angles, then decide. The power of discernment. Thank you for your 3 and half ‘Likes’.

American photographer Christian Peacock has restored my faith in photography. Digital has reduced the human spirit to a polarised code – you are nothing but a combination of zeros and ones. Not true. Christian shot these beautiful creamy portraits with film. Old school with a touch of the old masters’ aesthetic. The people in these photographs exist. They breathe. They have lives. They have loves. They have triumphs and disasters. They are human. Humanity captured gracefully by a very talented photographer. In my book, old school is doing something real well; with spirit and passion. Christian should be proud of his old school credentials. Please check out his “Making of” blog and learn how analog photography changes the relationship between shooter and subject – the secret sauce that digital has all but forgotten. Source: Blog — Christian Peacock Photography

Ansel Adams’ famous quote about technical proficiency in photography is more apt today than ever. Camera manufactures and photography ‘gearheads’ continue to peddle a narrow narrative concerning the importance of mathematically machined photographic equipment and its importance if you want to ‘shoot like a pro’. British photographer Pennie Smith has proven otherwise. Her iconic photo of Paul Simonon smashing his guitar on stage during a show in New York City in 1979 is a perfect example of the visceral power of an imperfect photograph that is perfectly flawed. It’s out of focus and grainy. A technocrats worst nightmare. Yet it became one of the most famous images in Rock’n’Roll when used as cover art for The Clash’s London Calling album. A fuzzy photo that captures the energy and vitality of life will always win out against a sterile photo that’s perfectly sharp.

Chris Duffy, son of legendary fashion photographer Brian Duffy, guides us through the work of one of the most creative collaborations between a performing artist and photographer in Rock ‘n’ Roll history. Their working partnership resulted in some of the most iconic album art ever conceived – Bowie’s Aladdin Sane and Lodger.

Bowie was a very inspirational figure for me. My adolescent love of art and music was made manifest in the figure of Ziggy Stardust. A visual artist who could sing rock ‘n’ roll. And could do both brilliantly. I created the above artwork for another online project but decided to post it here as my tribute to a man who was, even in death, a work of art. I built the image using the original photography of Brian Duffy (Aladdin Sane) and Johan Renck (Blackstar/Lazarus). I uploaded the shots to my iPhone 6 and, with the Photostudio and Picfx photo apps, I arrived at the artwork seen above. From station to station, from beginning to end, Bowie remained an iconoclastic artist. One can only aspire to be as inspirational.

An epic epitaph. His last work takes on a totally new meaning knowing he knew. On his new album Blackstar, Bowie returned to musical themes he has been developing since the 60s – he had a deep interest and knowledge of occult gnostic practices. The world without David Bowie seems poorer. Less colourful. Less creative. Less interesting. The sountrack to our lives has stopped. Very sad. R.I.P. David Jones.